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Monday, September 2, 2013

Natalie's Nursery Tour :)

It has been a heavy few days on the blog opening up about a really tough time in my life and, especially, my marriage, so I decided to lighten the mood with something a little bit (a lot a bit) happier - a tour of the little girl's nursery.

I am obsessed. It really came out perfectly and exactly how I had always envisioned my child's room to look. I had the bedding picked out since long before I got pregnant. It was the same bedding I had as a child. I remember sitting around the table at Brandon's aunt and uncles house, before I was ready to admit that I wanted a baby, and showing his family the perfect little nursery bedding. I always knew that I wanted classic Pooh. I have always loved Pooh. The newer Pooh is cute, but the classic Pooh just never goes out of style and it's not overly cutesy cute so it is something she can really grow up with. I remember my childhood best friend, Jessie, still had all her classic pooh stuffed animals in her room when we were teenagers - like I said, it's like the little black dress, it never goes out of style.

My older sister, Michelle, and I took to the internet and we found a website that matches nursery bedding to pregnancy friendly paints. This was awesome because when Brandon and I bought our townhouse in 2012 we would be able to paint the nursery the right color green from the get-go.. yep even before we were pregnant. I am obsessed with the neutral green color. I did not want to paint the room after the new carpet was installed and I did not want to have to paint the room more than one time so it was critical to have the perfect color picked out for the nursery before we moved into the house which, like I have mentioned, was about a year before we actually, finally got pregnant. Like I have said before, I have been planning for this child FOREVER. Brandon, being the saint that he is, just rolled with the punches and, while he probably thought I was bat shit crazy at the time, he now understands the method to my madness.

I absolutely love how her name came out on the wall. Brandon did an awesome job hanging up the letters. He really is an incredible man and an even better husband and I am so fortunate to be going through this crazy life with him by my side. [I know, I know... vomit.]

I didn't take pictures of them on the wall because it would have been weird to take pictures of outlet covers, BUT we found absolutely adorable Classic Pooh outlet covers on Etsy at a shop called Busy Mom Outlets. It's the little details like these that I think really make the room for me. I didn't want a lot on the walls or a lot in the room - I really wanted the space to be open and not cluttered, really simple. I wanted it to be a calming space.

I am seriously obsessed with these.

Brandon made it perfectly clear from the very beginning when we talked about having a baby that he wanted the nursery to have a Cracker Barrel rocker. As soon as we got pregnant, Brandon's parents knew exactly what to get us for the nursery: the Cracker Barrel rocker. Lori and I found the pillow on the rocker at a shop at the Hagerstown outlets and we absolutely fell in love with it. It fits the chair and the room perfectly.

Even though Evan hates it - I absolutely adore the corner bookcase that Evan made for the baby :) He is SO incredibly talented and I love how it matches the furniture and style of the room so perfectly. On top of the bookcase I have 2 mason jars: one for cotton swabs and one for her pacifiers. I am sure as time goes on and I have other little things I want easy access to we'll have another mason jar up there - but for now, that's what we have. The basket in the corner has all four of the classic stuffed animals: Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger. The lamp is a classic pooh lamp from Buy Buy Baby. It's simple but really produces a lot of light. As you can see, her bookcase has no shortage of children's book already. I have been buying books for the little girl since before we knew we were having her. Buying children's books was my way of coping with every negative pregnancy test. I would buy another children's book and sit on the floor in the what would be nursery and read to Gemma. I don't know what I would have done without that furry little friend.

The changing table is an antique chest of drawers that my mom used as a changing table for my sisters and me. I absolutely love that detail. It was much more cost effective to simply buy a pad for the changing table than it would have been to buy a new changing table. This one fits the room and our style so much better than something new. Along the wall over the changing table we have three classic Pooh pictures that I found on Etsy at Pretty Petals Papers.

And finally the little girl's closet. Instead of buying a big new dresser for her - Brandon and I opted to get something from Ikea that would hold her over for awhile until we really figured out what we wanted. It fits perfectly in the closet. And, as you can see, we have already done some shopping for the little girl :) I wish I had thought to take a picture of them - but I bought these adorable closet dividers on Etsy (of course) at a shop called Potato Patch.

I am so ready to get her home... at least on paper. It will be exciting to bring her into her room for the first time and to have that moment where it becomes real. To sit in the rocking chair, holding her, reading her stories... I know she won't be sleeping in her room anytime soon, but I am so happy to have it done. It's been so nice to be able to come up the stairs and see her crib in there with the bed made and to go in there and sit in the rocking chair and just take it all in. From the moment we moved into the house, that room has been meant for a baby. It's so incredibly overwhelming to know that thanks to a little miracle, that room will belong to our little Natalie Grace. I am so thankful for everyone who made that possible.